Not applicable.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for making evergreen bough garlands and, more particularly, to a device for continuously fastening multiple evergreen boughs to a wire to form a garland of extended length.
2. Background Information
It is common practice for municipalities, corporations and even individuals to put up decorations during the Christmas season. One popular decoration is a garland made up of individual evergreen boughs fastened together in a long string and supported in an elevated location. The manufacture of these evergreen bough garlands is labor intensive when done by hand. Individuals have devised a variety of mechanical devices to automate the garland fabrication process.
A number of patents have been granted for devices for fastening boughs together to make garlands or wreaths. Anderson, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,585,357, discloses a chenille making machine where thread spools are mounted on a rotating disk with the thread feeding into a central core where the chenille is fabricated.
Herold et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 2,613,292, describe a crimping machine for producing a convoluted ornament from a strip of paper, cellophane or metal foil and a central cord.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,993,332, Hughes discloses an evergreen roping machine that has a winding head assembly with a wheel that holds a spool of wire that feeds the wire to a projecting needle arm. The wheel rotates to wrap the wire around evergreen boughs on a twine.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,284,995 by Haight discloses a device for wrapping wire strands around a bundle of fibers. A winding wheel has a central aperture through which the bundle passes. The wheel has several spools that supply the cord that wraps the bundle. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,592, Geisinger describes a similar framework that carries spools of wire that are wound around a hose.
Bonikowski et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 3,590,567, describe an apparatus for controlling tension in flexible material being wrapped about an elongated core such as a tube or pipe. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,643,416, Andrews et al. disclose a device for wrapping a bundle of filaments with yarn supplied on a spool. The filaments pass through the center of the yam spool and the spool rotates to wrap the yam about the filaments.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,514, Rodermund et al. describe a method of manufacturing wreaths and the like from flat sheet material and twisted wire. Another Rodermund et al. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,310, discloses a garland manufacturing machine where winding strands are formed into a tube and then cut to produce the garland.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,932 by Miller describes the manufacture of a decorative garland by wrapping continuous fibers about a frame and cutting the resulting tube to produce the garland.
Kalm et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,063, discloses a garland maker that has an arm that rotates about an axis. The arm includes an opening to feed a core wire for the garland and another opening to feed the wrapping wire to secure the evergreen bough as the arm rotates.
Carmichael, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,729, describes a wreath-making machine that wires bundles of evergreen boughs to a circular wreath frame. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,140, Theriault discloses an evergreen tree compressing and wrapping machine that employs a plastic netting to hold the tree in a compressed state. A recent patent by Kilbane, U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,490, shows a mechanical apparatus for making a wire wreath ring to which evergreen boughs are easily attached.
All of the above devices are limited in the length of an evergreen bough garland that can be produced during a single run. Applicant has invented a bough roping device that overcomes many of the difficulties present in the above devices.
The invention is directed to a bough roping machine for fastening multiple evergreen boughs to a wire to form a linear garland used for decoration. The machine includes a support base with a vertical frame member secured to the support base member. The frame member has a planar disk member rotatably supported vertically therein, with the disk member including a center aperture there through. A power means is operatively connected to the disk member for rotating the disk member relative to the frame and base members. A spool support member is secured to the support base member, with the spool support member including a hollow bearing shaft member rotatably secured thereto with the central axis of the hollow bearing shaft member perpendicular to the vertical disk member and centered on the disk aperture. The bearing shaft member is adapted for holding a spool of wrapping wire thereon. A plate member is secured to the hollow bearing shaft member, and a rigid connecting member is fastened between the plate member and the planar disk member for synchronous rotation of the plate and disk members. A biasing means is adapted for frictionally engaging the plate member with a spool of wrapping wire positioned on the spool support hollow bearing shaft member for synchronous rotation of the plate member and the spool of wrapping wire.
Wire guide means is present for feeding wrapping wire from the spool positioned on the spool support hollow bearing shaft member to a location on the planar disk member adjacent the disk aperture. A tensioning means maintains tension on the wrapping wire from the spool. A core wire fed through the hollow bearing shaft member and the planar disk member center aperture, and evergreen boughs inserted into the disk aperture are secured to the core wire at the disk member aperture by synchronous rotation of the planar disk member, the plate member and the spool member, with a wrapping wire supplied from the spool, through the wire guide means and tensioning means and to the disk aperture, to continuously encircle and wrap around boughs and the core wire in the disk aperture.